James Simons Montessori, Charleston SC

Original Research by School Decision on James Simons Montessori

James Simons Montessori, located on King Street in downtown Charleston, offers a PK-8 public school experience built around the Montessori approach. The school is part of Charleston 01 and is designated a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. For families drawn to Montessori’s self-directed, mixed-age philosophy, this is the only public Montessori option within the district, and its grade span means a child could enter in preschool and stay through eighth grade. That continuity, within a single building, is a defining structural feature.

The student body is mixed in racial composition: the largest group is White, followed by a substantial Black population, with smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which under the federal Community Eligibility Provision means all students eat at no charge and the school does not collect individual income applications. This universal program can simplify logistics for families and removes any stigma around meal assistance, though it also means the school does not report a traditional poverty rate for comparison. Because of the small enrollment in the upper grades—classes thin out markedly after fifth grade—the school is close-knit, and a parent may want to ask how middle school classes are structured given the low per-grade counts.

Academically, the school’s state test results present a mixed picture. English language arts proficiency is clearly a strength in the elementary grades, with strong reported rates across tested third, fourth, and fifth grades. Eighth-grade ELA also shows a solid level. Math is more uneven: third and fourth grades show moderate proficiency, but fifth and eighth grades fall to lower levels, and results for sixth and seventh grades are suppressed because the tested groups are too small to report. Science results for fourth grade are moderate, while social studies data from an older test year are not current enough to rely on. The overall pattern suggests literacy instruction is working well, while math achievement may be an area a family would want to investigate further with the school, especially for older students. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate or college readiness data.

The housing market around the school is among the most expensive in the region. The 29403 zip code has home values far above the state and national medians, and rents follow a similar pattern. This creates a high cost of entry for families who want to live within walking distance of the school. Charleston itself is a growing city with a tourism-driven economy, a busy port, aerospace employers like Boeing, and a tech sector. The historic peninsula offers walkable streetscapes and civic anchors, but the city also contains sprawling suburban districts where housing is more affordable. The school draws from across the attendance zone, so commute patterns vary.

The district brief turned up no recent major parent-relevant changes such as bond votes, rezoning, or curriculum shifts, so a family would need to rely on current information from the school itself about upcoming years. James Simons Montessori occupies a specific niche in Charleston’s public school landscape: a downtown Montessori school serving a diverse student body from preschool through middle school, with strong literacy outcomes and a math soft spot. For a family committed to Montessori pedagogy and the continuity of a single K-8 campus, this is a natural fit. For those who prioritize high math scores or want a larger middle school peer group, it may be less suited. The absence of high school means an eventual transition decision later on.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 63% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 60%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 57% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 45% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 65% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 66% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 67% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 64% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 54% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 68% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 68% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

This schoolCharleston 01, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income90%40 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income70%40 pp gap